The present invention is related generally to a cutting system for cutting sheet material and, more particularly, to a guided cutting system for cutting predetermined shapes out of sheet material, such as photographs and mat material, for use in photograph scrapbooking applications.
In order to provide an attractive presentation of photos in a scrapbook, the photos are often cut or cropped, cutting away a peripheral area of the photo and leaving a central main subject portion of the photo. Cropping of photos provides an attractive border area for the photo wherein the photo may be cropped in a circular, oval or wavy peripheral edge, and additionally may be provided with a mat which underlies the photo and extends beyond the edges thereof for enhancing the framing of the picture on a scrapbook page. Typically, the mat is made such that it mirrors and extends beyond the peripheral edge of the cropped photo in order to provide a uniform edge border around the photo.
Various devices have been proposed to facilitate the cropping operation including special scissors having wavy or deckled edges, and guided cutters such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 701,828 to Arnold which incorporates a guide plate for guiding an arm movably supported on the plate to direct a cutting blade in a desired pattern for cutting a mat. Other known guided cutting devices for cutting circles or ovals in a sheet of material include those incorporating a so called xe2x80x9cScottish yokexe2x80x9d mechanism which utilizes a base member supporting a pivoted arm and including two transversely oriented axes for guiding the arm in a controlled elliptical path. Alternatively, the arm may be held in a central location of intersection between the two paths whereby the arm may be pivoted in a circular movement. Typical examples of such devices are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,233,748 to Logan et al. and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,631 to Houston.
While the known devices for cutting ovals and circles provide the desired results of accurately following a desired shape, such devices are typically complex in that they require assembly of several parts and also are generally not well adapted to convenient storage and transportation in that they incorporate an elongated arm connected to and extending from a base, such that they are not adapted to compact storage, a desirable attribute for equipment used by those involved in scrapbooking.
Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus which facilitates cutting of ovals, circles and other shapes in sheet material and which requires a minimum of parts with accompanying reduced cost. In addition, there is a need for such an apparatus wherein a cutter is provided having means for protecting a user from contact with a cutting portion of the cutter when it is not in use.
In accordance with the present invention, a guided cutting system is provided including first and second blade cartridges, each blade cartridge including a head portion and a cover portion detachably mountable to the head portion. In addition, a template is provided having at least one groove for guiding a selected one of the blade cartridges in a predetermined cutting path to thereby cut a predetermined pattern in a substrate underlying the template.
The head portion of each blade cartridge includes a cutting end and a non-use end, and a side wall extending between the cutting end and the non-use end. The cutting end includes a cutting blade supported within a blade holder and a pair of spaced pegs forming guide means for positioning within the groove of the template. The blade of the first blade cartridge is located a first predetermined distance from the guide pegs thereof, and the blade of the second cartridge is located a second predetermined distance from the guide pegs thereof wherein the second predetermined distance is greater than the first predetermined distance. Thus, the first blade cartridge may be used to cut a desired outline in a photo, and the second blade cartridge may be used to cut a corresponding shape in a mat wherein the size of the mat is greater than that of the photo such that the present cutting system provides a matching border for a cropped photo.
The cover portion includes a side wall defining opposing ends wherein a peripheral edge at one end defines an open end, and an end wall at an opposing end defines a closed end for the cover portion. The side wall defines an inner surface dimensioned to receive and engage the side wall of the head portion. The head portion and cover portion are configured such that the cover portion is mountable over the non-use end of the head portion to thereby define a handle portion for a person to grasp the blade cartridge and guide it around the template, and the cover portion is also mountable over the cutting end of the head portion for providing a guard to prevent contact with the cutting blade when the blade cartridge is not in use.
The template may be provided with an open interior area defined by an inner peripheral edge wherein a first groove is provided adjacent to an outer peripheral edge of the template and a second groove is provided adjacent to the inner peripheral edge of the template. In this manner, a single template may be used for creating large or small cuts depending on whether the blade cartridge is guided around the outer periphery or inner periphery, respectively.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a guided cutting system including a blade cartridge capable of being hand guided around a template.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a blade cartridge wherein a cover portion is provided for attachment to either one of two opposing ends of a blade carrying head portion.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a guided cutting system including two similarly constructed blade cartridges adapted to be guided around a periphery of a template and to provide a predetermined size differential for a pattern being cut.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide a guided cutting system wherein a template is provided having an open interior area and including outer and inner peripheral grooves to guide a blade cartridge to cut different size patterns.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.